Line drawing aid for pencils, pens, and the like



Dec. 21, 1954 R. R. SIMMONS LINE DRAWING AID FOR PENCILS, PENS, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 1, 1952 4 illlhriu,

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United States Patent LINE DRA ING-An) FOR; PENCILS, PENS,

Ryden, R. Simmons,- Washington, D. C.

Application, Febru ryl, 1952, Serial No. 269,434,

3 Claims. (Cl. 120-79)- This invention relates to drawing aids, and more particularly has. reference to a, device adapted to guide a penc l, pen, brush or like instrument duringfreehand drawingyfor the purpose of producing a steady, accurate line, Whether said line be straight or curved.

It: is quite'difiicult, particularly for one not possessing a degree of drawing skill, to draw, freehand, a straight or curved line that will be located exactly where desired, and will not waver or show other traces of unsteadiness between its ends.

Accordingly, it is the main object of the present invention to provide a drawing aid which will be simple in construction and inexpensive of manufacture, and which, when attached to a drawing instrument of the type referred'to, will assist the user in producing accurately located, steady, straight or curved lines during freehand drawing operations;

Another important object is to provide a device of the category referredto which will be so formed as not tointerf ere in any way with the free manipulation of the writing or drawing tool.

'Stillanother important object is to provide a drawing aid'as described which can be readily attached to the'lpencil'or similar tool, and which can be detached therefrom with equal facility.

Yet another important object is to provide an attachment of the category referred to which, when securedv toapencih pen or similar instrument, willbe operatively positioned to aidin the freehand drawing of straight or .:"curved lines when the instru'rn'ent is hddl pright,

and; which will, be automatically elevated to an' ,in operative position when the instrument is inclined for the purpose ofordinary printing or writing.

Still another importantobject isto providea drawing aid, as stated having a guide wheel particularly-formed ina rnannerto prevent slippage upon a piece of drawing paper or the like, said guide wheel being resiliently urged. in1the direction of the drawing surfaceso as to be held,

firmly ,in, engagement therewith l at all times,

Other objects will appear from the following descriptio n, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawingfin' which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein;

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a drawing, aid formed. in accordance with thepresent invention asv it appears, when 'in'use during the freehand drawing of a straight or, curved line;

Figural isan enlarged side elevational view of the drawing aid perse, showing the. sideoppositefrom that illustratedin Figure 1;

Fig'ureB is a topplan view;

Figure .4 [is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a plan view-of the, blank from which the device is formed;

Figure 6 is'a fragmentary perspective view showing the constructionof the, device at. the lower end thereof; Figure 7 is a view. similar to Figure 1, showing a modified form;

Figure 8 is a top planview of the formillnstrated.

in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is an edge elevational view of another modification;. and

Figure- 10;isa side elevational view of the form-of device illustrated in Figure9 h Referring, to the draw n s t ..;.i -F u e illustrated? blankafimatenah, desi 'ice the-reference numeralw10. At one end, the-blank, whichmay be readily stamped from a flat-piece of thin'sheet metal orsthe like, lSzfOIII1d with elongated, depending plates 12; 14.; Thesplates 12'andl4sare identical in length and width, and .are. formed 'with rounded; lower end edges. The upper end portionsofthe plates-are integrally joined by a connecting web 16.

The blank 10. is :formedwith an elongated; rectangular, flat wing 18 integral along one end edge thereof with the plate 14. At its other-end, thewing-18 is formed with spaced, parallel slots 20,22, theslot 20 opening'upon; thelower edge of the wing and the slot 22 opening upon the upper edgethereof;

In the lower end portion of the plate 12, I provide a closed. longitudinal slot 24 disposed medially between theopposite-side edges of said-plate-l2'. Contiguous to-theupper end-edgeof theplate -12, a U-shaped slit 'is provided; defining a flap 26 to be struck outwardly fromsaid;

plate.

It is believed apparent that theabove-described;forma tionrof the blank lllcan be effected in a single-stamping operation.

The blank 10 is used during the manufacture of that; formof the drawing aidillustrated in Figures l through- 6, and as an initial-step in assembling the device, I

mount against one face of the plate 12 a spring 28. The

spring28;as best shown inFigures 4 and 6, is formedwith a plurality of flat,; coplanar convolutions, this construction being preferred for the purpose of reducing the overall'width of 'theguide means embodied in the aid.-

At one end,- the spring 28 is in engagement with theinstruck= flap-26, said'fiap-constituting an abutment for said end-of the spring.- At its other end, the spring is formed with a laterallyoffset guide-portion 30adapted to extend through the slot 24 of. the side plate 12 and having an inwardly turned free end constituting an axle or shaft upon which-the guide .wheel 32 is rotatably mounted.

The construction of the guide wheel 32 is of importance, and, as shown particularly to advantage in Figures 2 and 6; said wheel has its periphery formed with a circumferential series of teeth 34 extending fully therearound. By, reason of this construction, when the drawing. toolis moved across a surface S on which=a line is.

to be drawn, the wheel 32 will effectively preclude slippage of :said tool laterally in either direction, and will guide the point of the tool efiicientlyduring .the drawing of a sraight or curved line.

If desired, thev lower end of the spring 28 can be formed witha guide foot 38 slidably contacting the inner face of the side plate 14,and thus, the wheel 32 ;will

beheld; against lateral deviation, the opposite faces of the wheel being spaced closely from the respective inner face of the side plates 12 and 14.

At 40 'Ihave designated a bend line, and, as may be notedfrornFigure 3, the wing 18 isbent outwardly from the, side; plate 14 along said line, and formed toasubstantially circular configuration to define a clamp ring 42., In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 through,6,, said ring is adapted to receive a pencil"? or other'drawingtool, so as to releasably secure said tool,:to, the guide means defined by thesside plates, spring and wheel hereinbefore described.

The clamp ring 12 is so formed as to be providedtwith an interiorly disposed pencil-gripping means. Informing saidpencil-gripping means, spring legs 44, 46 are utilized,; these being} defined by the provision of the slits 2Q, 22,,respectively. In this connection, the spring, leg

46 .-is.folded.inwardly .over the leg 44, along a fold line 48;{and theleg 44.pressed inwardly of the ring 42,.to a slightextent, as best shown in Figure 2. The leg 46,

accordingly, is formed into a fiat spring. member that.

Patented Dec. 21, 1954 to be drawn, and the guide wheel 32 will be effective to steady and guide the movement of the tool. obtains by reason of the fact that there is a two-point support of the line-drawing instrument, a construction which not only will support the instrument in firm contact with the surface S, but will also hold the tip of the instrument against slippage laterally of the line being drawn due to the surface-gripping action of the guide Wheel.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, the device is mounted upon one of the fingers of the users hand. In this connection, in Figure 7 1 have illustrated the device as being mounted upon the index finger, but it should be noted at this point that the device can be positioned upon any other selected finger, if desired. In any event, the second form of the invention is identical to the first form, so far as the construction of the side plates, spring and guide wheel are concerned. The main difference, in this regard, between the first and second forms resides in the construction of the clamp ring, the device illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 being provided with a clamp ring 50 adapted to be slipped over the end of the selected finger of the users hand, and having a rolled free edge 52.

In Figure 7, the use of the modified form of the invention is illustrated, and, as will be noted from this figure a paint brush B, or other drawing instrument, is held by the user in an upright position, with the tip of said brush in contact with the surface S, and the device attached to the index finger. When the brush B is moved across the surface S for the purpose of drawing a line, the guide wheel 32 will engage the surface to steady the movement of the brush. If, of course, the writing habits or drawing habits of the user are such as would cause the wheel to be disposed directly within the line being drawn or painted, the user can mount the drawing aid constituting the present invention on some finger other than the index finger, and this will space the guide wheel laterally of the painted line, thus to prevent blotting.

In Figures 9 and 10 I have illustrated a second modified form of the invention, wherein the instrument-gripping means is similar to the form illustrated in Figures 1 through 6. However, the guide Wheel support assembly in this instance includes side plates 54, 56, respectively, integrally joined by a connecting web 58 and spaced apart a substantially greater distance than is true of the first form of the invention.

As may be noted from Figure 10, there is integrally formed upon the side plate 54 a side extension 60 which is folded inwardly in the direction of the other side plate, and which, at its upper end, is provided with an inturned lip 62 constituting an abutment for one end of a coil spring 64.

Longitudinal slots 66 are formed in the respective side plates, and are aligned transversely of the support assembly of the guide wheel, said slots receiving vertically spaced guide pins 68 projecting outwardly in opposite directions from an inverted, U-shaped wheel support bracket 70, the opposite legs of which are in contact with the inner surfaces of the respective side plates.

Due to the provision of the longitudinal slots 66 of the side plates, the bracket 70 is mounted for up-anddown sliding movement between the side plates, the lower end of the spring abutting against the upper surface of the bracket and exerting a continuous, yielding pressure against the bracket tending to force the bracket downwardly toward the surface S on which a line is to be drawn or painted.

A guide wheel 72, formed similarly to the guide wheel previously illustrated and described, is rotatably mounted within the bracket 70, the lower guide pin 68 extending fully through the bracket to provide a shaft on which the wheel may rotate. The device as illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 is used in the same manner previously described herein, the guide wheel being urged downwardly by its associated spring, so as to be held firmly in contact with the surface S, thus to be held against slippage during the line-drawing operation.

It is thought worthy of observation that in each of the different forms of the invention, the construction includes a clamping ring proportioned to receive the object to be held steady, whether said object is a finger, pencil, pen, or brush, with the two plates being relatively elongated, and being respectively disposed within planes arranged substantially radially of the ring (note Figures 3 and 8). In combination with this arrangement, I extend the plates, when considered in the direction of the lengths,'in par- This action allelism with the axis of the ring, with the guide wheel being rotatably mounted between the plates for rotation in a plane radial of the ring, the plates being fixedly connected to the ring in each instance. The arrangement is one which allows a single guide wheel to be used to either trail or lead the object held within the clamping ring, with said object and wheel following along the same line. Thus, when the device is being used in close proximity to the edge of a drawing board or to the edge of a paper on which the line is being drawn, there is, in the first instance, no danger of the guide wheel slipping off said edge of the drawing board or paper and the device thus becomes usable at locations upon the paper at which it might otherwise be incapable of use, were it not for the construction illustrated and described. In the second instance, this particular arrangement of the parts provides, I believe, for a more accurate drawing of free hand lines, whether they be straight or curved, than might otherwise be possible, since the user is enabled to align a drawing tool spaced from a single guide wheel, in the path along which the free hand line is being made.

It is believed to be an important characteristic of the device that it can be attached to or detached from a conventional drawing tool with considerable ease and facility. It is also believed to be a characteristic of importance that the drawing aid can be constructed at a low cost from a readily stamped, inexpensive blank capable of being associated in a few simple operations with the other components of the drawing aid.

It should be noted that in Figure 10 I have illustrated a rounded projection 74 integrally formed upon the side extension 60. This permits the entire device to be used as a means for clipping the drawing tool to the edge of a pocket, said rounded projection and the drawing tool cooperating to grip the fabric of the pocket between them.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that in the aid according to the present invention the plates 12 and 14 are upstanding and arranged in face to face spaced relation and are connected together at their upper ends by means of the connecting web 16, and that positioned between and operatively connected to the plates 12 and 14 is the upstanding spring biased rotatable guide wheel 32, the lower portion of the guide wheel projecting below the lower ends of the plates and being adapted to roll upon the surface upon which a line is to be drawn. In addition, there is a support arranged in tandem relation with respect to the planes 12 and 14 and is operatively connected to the plates for holding the drawing tool in an upright aligned position with respect to the lower end portion of the guide wheel 32, the support being in the form of the clamp ring 42.

It is believed clear that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor changes in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An aid for free hand line drawing comprising a pair of plates arranged in face to face spaced and substantially parallel relation and connected together adjacent one of their ends, said plates each having elongated longitudinally extending slots formed therein and aligned with each other, said slots being positioned adjacent the other ends of said plates, an inverted substantially U- shaped bracket and means mounting said bracket in said slots for reciprocation longitudinally of said plates, resilient means positioned between said plates and engaging said bracket to urge constantly said bracket toward said other ends of said plates, a wheel mounted for rotation on said bracket between said plates and normally projecting beyond said other ends of said plates, and means comprising a lateral extension of one of said plates adjacent said upper end thereof for supporting a drawing implement in tandem relationship relative to said plates.

, 2. An aid for free hand line drawing comprising a pair of plates arranged in face to face spaced and substantially parallel relation and connected together adjacent one of their ends, said plates each having elongated longitudinally extending slots formed therein and aligned with each other, said slots being positioned adjacent the other ends of said plates, an inverted substantially U- shaped bracket and means mounting said bracket in said slots for reciprocation longitudinally of said plates, resilient means positioned between said plates and engaging said bracket to urge constantly said bracket toward said other ends of said plates, a wheel mounted for rotation on said bracket between said plates and normally projecting beyond said other ends of said plates, and a lateral extension arranged in tandem relation with respect to said plates and operatively connected to one of said plates adjacent said upper end and including resilient means for supporting a writing element.

3. An aid for free hand line drawing comprising a pair of plates arranged in face to face spaced and substantially parallel relation and connected together adjacent one of their ends, said plates each having elongated longitudinally extending slots formed therein and aligned with each other, said slots being positioned adjacent the other ends of said plates, an inverted substantially U- shaped bracket and means mounting said bracket in said slots for reciprocation longitudinally of said plates, resilient means positioned between said plates and engaging said bracket to urge constantly said bracket toward said other ends of said plates, a wheel mounted for rotation on said bracket between said plates and normally projecting beyond said other ends of said plates, a lateral extension arranged in tandem relation with respect to said plates and operatively connected to one of said plates adjacent said upper end and including resilient means for supporting a writing element, and means adjacent said other ends of said plates cooperating with said implement constituting means for detachably securing said aid and said implement to the operators pocket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 416,003 Logan Nov. 26, 1889 724,687 Floren Apr. 7, 1903 833,964 Herman Oct. 23, 1906 890,274 Hall June 9, 1908 2,557,212 Alfrey June 19, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,047 Switzerland Dec. 31, 1890 

